Exception markup documents

ABSTRACT

A method for excluding structures from a markup document can include identifying a section within a first markup document into which at least a portion of a second markup document is to be inserted. An exception markup document can be identified that specifies structures restricted within the section. The first markup document, the second markup document, and the exception markup document can be based upon the same markup language. The portion of the second markup document can be searched for at least one excluded structure specified within the exception markup document. If no excluded structure is found the portion can be inserted into the section. If at least one of the excluded structures is found, at least one exception handling operation can be performed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of software and, moreparticularly, to Web portals.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Many Web sites utilize portals, which are anchor Web pages usedas entry points or gateways to network accessible information. Morespecifically, a portal can include one or more containers within whichexternally derived content can be placed. For example, a portal canextract data from a content source, which can be a Web page. Portals,having the ability to group data from diverse and independantlymaintained sites, can be highly efficient structures for providinginformation to users. Since software development and maintenance can beextremely costly, leveraging pre-existing software from content sourceswithin portal containers can save businesses considerable resources.

[0005] Portal construction is possible due to the extensive use ofmarkup within network assessible documents. Markup refers to thesequence of characters or other symbols that can be inserted at certainplaces in an electronic document to indicate how the electronic documentshould look when the document is printed or displayed. Markup can alsodefine logical structures, such as a table, a graphic element, and/or adata field, within an electronic document. Numerous standard markuplanguages exist that include, but are not limited to, HTML (HypertextMarkup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), SGML (StandardGeneralized Markup Language), WML (Wireless Markup Language), and thelike. Network accessible markup documents can generally be accessed anddisplayed using a Web browser, which can be a client program thatutilizes the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to make requests ofservers for specified documents, usually markup documents.

[0006] Problems can occur with portals incorporating external contentinto containers because conventional markup languages lack variable typechecking capabilities. Type checking is a software engineering conceptreferring to the testing for type compatibility between two variables.Type checking assures that only integer values are assigned to integervariables, only string values are assigned to string variables, onlygraphics assigned to graphic variables, and the like. Portal containerscan be thought of as a particular type of object, a container object,that accepts values or content from the content source. Conventionally,markup code representing content is directly inserted into a containerwithout any verification that the content is compatible with thecontainer.

[0007] Notably, a container can be embedded within a defined structureof the portal. The defined structure can have content restrictions andstructural restrictions associated with it. For example, the containercan be a graphical frame intended to receive a digitally renderedgraphical image, such as a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) or a JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group) file. In such an instance, contentinput should be limited to graphical images. Similarly, the containercan be a text box into which a graphical image should not be inserted.In another example, content can contain formatting details that areincompatible with the container, such as attempting to display a whitecolored string within a container with a white background.

[0008] Often, portal designers are more interested in excluding a fewselect structures from a container than limiting a container to atightly defined set of data types. Thus, a form of “structural exclusionchecking” as opposed to true type checking would be valuable to portaldesigners. Structural exclusion checking can prevent numerous anomoliesfrom occurring when restricted content or structures are inadvertentlyincluded within the container. The anomolies can result in run-timeerror messages, improperly formatted output, browser lock-up, andoperating system crashes.

[0009] For example, a container may represent a cell within a table of aportal. While the insertion of a wide variety of variable types, such asgraphics, sound, multimedia objects, text, and hyperlinks, into thecontainer may be appropriate, a limited number of structures can berestricted. For example, a portal developer may wish to restrict theinsertion of a table row into the container, which can result inundesirable formatting.

[0010] Conventional solutions to the aforementioned problem have proveninadequate. The most common conventional solution involves modificationof a DTD (Document Type Definition) associated with a markup languagedocument. Particularly, a DTD document can be constructed so thatstructures within a particular markup language will behave innon-standard ways. For example, a structure normally specifying a tablerow (TR) can be redefined within a DTD to have no functionality. When sodefined, a markup tag specifying a table row structure is effectivelyignorned. Redefining a DTD violates standards, causes behavior fraughtwith potential errors and side effects, and is generally a disfavoredtechnique from a structured programming viewpoint. Even if this solutionwere otherwise adequate, which it is not, DTD features vary from markuplanguage to markup language. Thus, any DTD related solution isrestricted to a particular markup language and cannot be appliedgenerally.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The invention disclosed herein provides a method and a system forthe handling of specified markup structures within containers of a Webportal. In particular, an exception markup document can be created whichdetails structures excluded from a container within a Web portal. Thecontainer can receive content provided by a content source. For example,the content source can be a Web page and the content can be anelectronic document written in a markup language. Before content isinserted into the container, the content can be modified in a mannerspecified by the exception markup document. Accordingly, the exceptionmarkup document can provide a means for excluding defined structuresfrom a container. Content based exclusion handling before the content isincorporated within a container can prevent undesirable behavior fromoccurring within the portal.

[0012] For example, a particular container within a portal can be a cellof a table. An exception markup associated with the container canexclude structures referring to tables, such as <TR>, <TD>, </TR>, and</TD>. Before content is placed within a container, the content can becompared to the exception markup document to determine if excludedstructures are contained within the content. If excluded structures arefound, then the excluded structure can be removed from the content.Consequently, the container, in this case a cell of a table, willreceive suitable content.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention can include a method forexcluding structures from a markup document including identifying asection within a first markup document into which at least portion of asecond markup document is to be inserted. An exception markup documentcan be identified that specifies structures restricted within thesection. The first markup document, the second markup document, and theexception markup document can be based upon the same markup language. Inone embodiment, the exception markup document can be disposed within thefirst markup document. In another embodiment, the exception markupdocument can identify a replacement structure associated with theexcluded structure. The section within the first markup document caninclude many segments. The structures specified within the exceptionmarkup document as restricted segments can refer to particular ones ofthese segments as opposed to the entire section. At least one of thesegments can be a structure as defined by the markup language of thefirst markup document.

[0014] The portion of the second markup document can be searched for atleast one excluded structure specified within the exception markupdocument. If no excluded structure is found, the portion of the secondmarkup document can be inserted into the section. If at least one of theexcluded structures is found, at least one exception handling operationcan be performed. For example, the exception handling operation candisplay a message indicating that restricted structures exist within theportion of the second markup document. In another example, the exceptionhandling operation can delete an excluded structure from the portion ofthe second markup document and, thereafter, insert the second markupdocument into the section. Further, an initializing and a terminallocation specifying the beginning and the end of the excluded structurecan be identified. At least a portion of the structure content containedbetween the initializing location and the terminal location can bedeleted.

[0015] The first markup document can be provided by a portal and thesection can specify a container. The second markup document can includecontent provided by a content source. The content source can bedifferent from the portal. For example, the content source and theportal can be different Web pages. Further, the content source and theportal can be disposed within different Web sites.

[0016] Another aspect of the present invention can include a system forproviding exceptions for markup language documents including anexception markup document configured to specify at least one structure.In one embodiment, the exception markup document can include a handlinginstruction associated with at least one structure specified within theexception markup document. In another embodiment, at least one structurespecified within the exception markup can be dependant upon a Webbrowser used to display structures. A container can be disposed within aportal, wherein the container can be configured to receive content froma content source external to the portal.

[0017] Additionally, the system can include a means for comparingstructures contained within the content to structures specified withinthe exception markup document. The system can also include an exceptionhandler configured to perform an exception handling operation responsiveto matches discovered by the comparing engine. The exception handler canprevent content containing restricted structures from being insertedinto the container. In one embodiment, the exception handler can displaya message responsive to matches discovered by the comparing engine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] There are shown in the drawings embodiments, which are presentlypreferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

[0019]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system including anexception markup document in accordance with the inventive arrangementsdisclosed herein.

[0020]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for performingexclusion handling in accordance with restrictions specified within anexception markup document using the system shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The invention disclosed herein provides a system and a method forexcluding structures from a portal container. More particularly, anexception markup document can be associated with a portal container andcan specify excluded markup structures. Any content that is to beinserted into the portal container can be examined. If any of thespecified structures are contained within the content, an exceptionhandling operation can be performed. One such exception handlingoperation can cause a warning message to be displayed. Another exceptionhandling operation can remove excluded structures from the content,thereafter incorporating the content into the container. The portal, thecontent, and the exception markup can all be specified using the samemarkup language.

[0022] As used herein, a structure can refer to a descriptor definableby a markup tag or tags. A typical structure has an opening tag and aclosing tag which indicate the scope of a given structure. For example,a table row structure can be described by the tags <TR> and </TR>, wheremarkup occurring between the tags is contained within the table row.Structures can be embedded inside other structures by placing tags forone structure within the opening tag and closing tag of anotherstructure. A myriad of structures referenced by tags exist for thedifferent markup languages and are well known to those of ordinary skillin the art. The invention disclosed herein is not restricted to anyparticular set or subset of structures and can be used in conjunctionwith any structure defined within a variety of markup languages,including structures specifying formatting characteristics, documentsections, processes, displayable items, and the like.

[0023]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 100 includingan exception markup document. The system 100 operates within anenvironment that can include a content source 105, a portal 110 with acontainer 120, a browser 115, and a network 130. Further, the system 100can include a comparing engine 135 and an exception handler 140 whichperform numerous operations upon and/or responsive to electronicdocuments written in a markup language, such as HTML (Hypertext MarkupLanguage), XML (Extensible Markup Language), SGML (Standard GeneralizedMarkup Language), WML (Wireless Markup Language), and the like. Thesemarkup documents can include a first markup 150, a second markup 155, anexception markup 160, and a markup 165.

[0024] The content source 105 can be a Web page that contains content125. The portal 110 can be another Web page that includes a container120, which incorporates the content 125 provided by the content source105. In one embodiment, the container 125 is merely a structure forreceiving content. Notably, the container 125 can manifest itself as avisible structure when rendered by the browser 115. For example, thecontainer 125 can be a frame, cell within a table, a text box, and thelike. In other cases, the container 125 need not have a visible formwhen rendered, but can manifest itself in another manner. For example, acontainer can be for a digital audio file which can be played. Inanother example, a container can trigger a computer operation, such astriggering a program or application. The browser 115 can be a clientapplication which presents the portal 110 to a user. The content source105, the portal 110, and the browser 115 can be communicatively linkedvia a network 130, such as the Internet.

[0025] The first markup 150 can be an electronic document specifying theportal 110. One section of the first markup 150 can specify thecontainer 120. The content 125 can be incorporated into the section. Inone embodiment, the section of the first markup 150 can contain multiplesegments each of which can contain different structures. The content 125can be incorporated into particular ones of the different structures ofthe first markup 150, where each segment can have different associatedstructural restrictions.

[0026] The second markup 155 can specify content 125 extracted from thecontent source 105. The exception markup 160 can be a markup documentthat can specify one or more structures, which are excluded from thecontainer 120. The exception markup 160 can also provide handlinginstructions which detail actions to be taken whenever a restrictedstructure is detected within the second markup 155. The markup 165 canbe the electronic document that is ultimately presented within thebrowser 115. The markup 165 can include the first markup 150 with amodified version of the second markup 155 contained within a specifiedsection. The structures specified within the exception markup 160 can beremoved from the second markup 155 to create the modified version of thesecond markup 155.

[0027] The comparing engine 135 can examine the second markup 155 forstructures excluded by the exception markup 160. If matches are found,indicating that one or more restricted structures are contained withinthe second markup 155, the exception handler 140 can perform anexception handling operation. For example, the exception handler 140 cangenerate a message 170 that indicates an excluded structure wasdiscovered within the second markup 155. In another example, theexception handler 140 can remove restricted structures from the secondmarkup 155 and generate the markup 165. The markup 165 can be renderedby the browser 115.

[0028] In operation, an environment can exist where the first markup 150can be associated with the portal 110 and where a section within thefirst markup can be associated with the container 120. The container 120can be specified by the second markup 155. Further, the exception markup160 can specify structures excluded from the container 120. Thisenvironment can respond to an attempt by the browser 115 to access theportal 110 via the network 130. Once contacted, the portal 110 canattempt to fill the container 120 with information by accessing thecontent source 105. The content source 105 can convey the content 125for the container 120 via the network 130.

[0029] Before any document containing restricted structures is renderedwithin the browser 115, the comparing engine 135 can determine whetherthe second markup 155 contains any restricted structures. For example,the exception markup 160 can restrict Structure A from appearing withinthe section of the first markup 150 associated with container 120. Inthe depicted example, the comparing engine 135 can detect that StructureA, which includes Content A, appears within the second markup 155. Thecomparing engine 135 can then convey the first markup 150, the secondmarkup 155, the exception markup 160, as well as an annotation for thediscovered match to the exception handler 140. Upon receiving anannotation that a match for restricted Structure A was found, theexception handler 140 can search exception markup 160 for handlinginstructions. Assume, for this example, that Handling A is a handlinginstruction that indicates a restricted structure and all includedcontent is to be removed and the resulting markup generated. Theexception handler 140 can interpret Handling A and responsively generatethe markup 165. Alternatively or conjunctively, a handling instructioncan specify that message 170 is to be created by the exception handler140. If markup 165 is generated, it can be rendered within browser 115.

[0030] It should be noted that the comparing engine 135 and theexception handler 140 can be located in numerous places within thesystem 100. For example, the comparing engine 135 and the exceptionhandler 140 can be disposed within a server of the portal 110. In suchan embodiment, the portal 110 can retrieve the content 125 from thecontent source 105 and integrate the content 125 within the container120. The integrated information can be specified as markup 165 which canbe conveyed to the browser 115.

[0031] In another embodiment, the comparing engine 135 and exceptionhandler 140 can be contained within an information requesting computerin which the browser 115 resides, referred to as the client. In such anembodiment, the portal 110 can convey the first markup 150 and theexception markup 160 to the client. The first markup can contain linkinginformation for retrieving the content 125 from the content source 105.The client can utilize the linking information to request and receivethe second markup 155. Once the client has received the required markupdocuments, the client can use the comparing engine 135 and the exceptionhandler 140 to construct the markup 165 and/or message 170.

[0032] In a further embodiment, the comparing engine 135 and exceptionhandler 140 can be a plug-in application for the browser 115. In anotherembodiment, the comparing engine 135 and exception handler 140 can be aclient-side application, such as a cookie. Moreover, the functionalitydescribed by the comparing engine 135 and the exception handler 140 canbe distributed across numerous hardware and software elements, each ofwhich can be communicatively linked to one another through network 130.

[0033] It should be noted that the structures specified within theexception markup 160 can contain restricted formatting and/orpositioning components. The exception markup 160 can specify theserestricted components and either exclude the structures from the markup165 or specify changes which the exception handler 140 can enact. In oneexample where the container 120 has a white background, the exceptionmarkup 160 can exclude any structure that is white or has a “white”attribute. Alternately, the exception markup 160 can specify that any“white” structure should be converted to a “black” structure. Further,the exception markup 160 can exclude or modify structures with aparticular font or font size. For example, the exception markup 160 canspecify that any textual structures written in an “Arial” font beconverted to a “Courier” font.

[0034] In another example, the second markup 155 can include itemshaving positioning coordinates, which can be expressed in eitherrelative or absolute terms. It should be appreciated that rendering acontent item at certain positions can result in content items beingpositioned outside the boundaries of the container 120, thereby causingdisruptions to the format of the portal 110. To resolve this problem,the exception markup 160 can exclude any structures with absolutepositioning coordinates. In another embodiment, absolute positioningcoordinates within the second markup 155 can be converted to relativecoordinates by the exception handler 140. Moreover, relative coordinatesexceeding positional limits defined within the exception markup 160 canbe excluded or modified by the exception handler 140.

[0035] In a further embodiment, the exception markup 160 can selectivelyexclude style attributes associated with specified structures. Forexample, the exception markup 160 can include an exception such as “<divstyle=X, white>” causing the exception handler 140 to exclude allstructures with the specified style attribute. Within the example,structures of type “<div>” without the style attribute and structures oftype “<div>” where “style” !=“X, white” can be permitted within themarkup)165. In another example, the exception markup 160 can direct theexception handler 140 to modify the style of structures from an excludedstyle to a specified style. For instance, the exception markup 160 canspecify “<div style=X, white> change_to <div style=X, black>” resultingin the exception handler 140 making a corresponding change in the markup165.

[0036]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 200 forperforming exclusion handling in accordance with restrictions specifiedwithin an exception markup document using the system shown in FIG. 1.System 200 can include a first markup 204, a second markup 206, anexception markup 208, a comparing engine 210, exception handlers 215,220, and 225, markups 217 and 222, containers 230 and 235, and message240. The first markup 204 represents the portion of markup for theportal within which content can be inserted. The first markup 204 caninclude a Segment A into which content from Section 1 of a referenceddocument is to be inserted. Additionally, the first markup 204 caninclude a Segment B into which content from Section 2 of a referenceddocument is to be inserted.

[0037] The second markup 206 represents data as extracted from a contentsource. The second markup 206 contains two sections labeled Section 1and Section 2, each with a structure labeled as Tag. The Tag structureof Section 1 contains Content 1 and the Tag structure of Section 2contains Content 2.

[0038] The exception markup 208 is a markup document that detailsstructures to be excluded from an associated container, namely thecontainer portion specified within the first markup 204. Exceptionmarkup 208 specifies that any structure of type Tag that occurs withinSection A should undergo some form of exception handling. Moreover, theexception markup 208 specifies that a structure of type Tag is allowedoutside of Section A and that no structural restrictions apply toSegment B.

[0039] Using the exception markup 208 as shown in FIG. 2, the comparingengine 210 can determine that any structure of type Tag inserted intoSegment A of the first markup 204 is a restricted structure.Accordingly, the Tag structure appearing within Section 1 of the secondmarkup 206 can be a restricted structure. At this point, an exceptionhandler can perform one or more exception handling operations. Threedifferent exception handlers are shown in system 200, each of whichresponsively performs a different exception handling operation.

[0040] Exception handler 215 can exclude restricted structures and allcontent contained within the restricted structure. Accordingly,exception handler 215 can generate markup 217 by deleting the Tag andContent 1 (<Tag> . . . </Tag) from Section 1 of the second markup 206.The container 230 can be a rendering of markup 217. In the container230, an area for Segment 230A can contain no retrieved data, while anarea for Segment 230B can retain the original formatting from the secondmarkup 206, which includes a structure containing Content 2.

[0041] Exception handler 220 can exclude restricted structures whileretaining content included within the restricted structure. Accordingly,exception handler 220 can generate markup 222 by deleting the <Tag> and<Tag/> lines from the Section 1 of the second markup 206. The container230 can be a rendering of markup 222. In the container 235, an area forSegment 235A can contain Content 1, while an area for Segment 235B canretain the original formatting from the second markup 206, whichincludes a structure containing Content 2.

[0042] Exception handler 225 can cause message 240 to be displayed. Themessage 240 can be particularly helpful to developers of a Web portal byhighlighting potential problems so that the problems can be eliminated.When used during design time, error conditions, helpful links, andproblematic structures can be displayed within view 240. When usedwithin a run-time environment, message 240 can contain user selectablehandling options. For example, a user can be informed of a potentialproblem, and be presented with handling choices, such as using theprocess detailed in exception handler 215 verses that of exceptionhandler 220. The selected handling technique can be responsivelyapplied. Further, the user can default to a selected exception handlingroutine without being prompted by view 240 or be prompted by view 240whenever an exception is identified. Additionally, options that resultin a modification of the exception markup 208 can appear within theexception handler 225. An option to report a problem to the portalWebmaster can also be included within view 240.

[0043] It should be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art thatexception handlers 215, 220, and 225 are used for illustrative purposesonly and the invention is not restricted to such handling routines.Instead, any error handling and/or exception handling techniqueordinarily used within software design can be used. For example, asystem can automatically modify the content to retain as much data aspossible while excepting restricted content. For instance, algorithmscan be used to determine if content within a restricted structure can beremoved from the structure successfully. If a restricted structure canbe removed, a first exception handler can be used. Otherwise, adifferent exception handler can be automatically selected, such as onethat removes a restricted structure and all markup contained between theinsertion tag and closing tag of the restricted structure.Alternatively, a user can manually select one of a variety of availableexception handling routines.

[0044] Further, it should be noted that the invention can be used withany markup language. By including exceptions within a markup document,the invention is extremely flexible and easily incorporated across avariety of hardware and software platforms. Moreover, the standards andmechanisms used to convey markup documents, such as the content markupand the markup for the portal itself can be used to convey the exceptionmarkup. Accordingly, exception markup documents can be conveyed inconjunction with other markup documents and exclusion handling can occurat a client and/or server location(s).

[0045] While the examples expressed within FIGS. 1 and 2 have describedparticular manners for detailing exceptions within the exception markup208, the invention is not limited to those particular examples. Anyspecification technique that is well known by ordinary practitioners inthe art of software design and programming can be utilized within theexception markup 208 to describe excluded structures. For example,programming logic can be included within the exception markup 208 topermit complex structure identification and situation dependantexclusion handling. Additionally, while the exception markup 208 can bea stand alone markup document, it need not be. For example, theexception markup 208 can be a defined section within a portal markupdocument.

[0046] In one embodiment, the exception markup 208 can contain onesection for permitted structures and a second section for excludedstructures. Such an embodiment can allow multiple exception markups todefine allowable structures, since a second exception markup documentcan be referenced whenever a particular structure is not included withina first exception markup document. Implementations allowing for thereferencing of multiple exception markup documents can be extremelyflexible. For example, one exception markup document can containbrowser-related constraints, another document can contain hardwareconstraints, another document can contain portal-defined constraints,still another can contain content-provider constraints, and yet anothercan contain user-defined constraints. A prioritization scheme can beused to determine the order in which multiple exception markups shouldbe referenced.

[0047] The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The present invention can berealized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be ageneral-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when beingloaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carriesout the methods described herein.

[0048] The present invention also can be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

[0049] This invention can be embodied in other forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, referenceshould be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for excluding structures from a markupdocument comprising the steps of: identifying a section within a firstmarkup document into which at least a portion of a second markupdocument is to be inserted; identifying an exception markup documentspecifying structures restricted within said section; searching saidportion for at least one excluded structure specified within saidexception markup document; if no excluded structure is found by saidsearching step, inserting said portion into said section; and, if atleast one of said excluded structures is found by said searching step,performing at least one exception handling operation.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said first markup document is provided by a portal,wherein said section specifies a container, and wherein said secondmarkup document includes content provided by a content source, whereinsaid content source is different from said portal.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said exception handling operation comprises: displayinga message indicating that restricted structures exist within saidportion.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said exception handlingoperation comprises the steps of: deleting said excluded structure fromsaid portion; and, inserting said portion within said section.
 5. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising: identifying an initializinglocation specifying the beginning of said excluded structure;identifying a terminal location specifying the ending of said excludedstructure; identifying structure content contained between saidinitializing location and said terminal location; and, deleting at leasta portion of said structure content.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: identifying within said exception markup document areplacement structure associated with said excluded structure; and,within said portion of said second document, replacing said excludedstructure with said replacement structure.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein said section comprises a plurality of segments, said methodfurther comprising: limiting at least a portion of said restrictedstructures identified within said exception markup document toparticular ones of said segments as specified within said exceptionmarkup document.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of saidsegments is a structure.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein saidexception markup document is disposed within said first markup document.10. A system for providing exceptions for markup language documentscomprising: an exception markup document configured to specify at leastone structure; a container disposed within a portal, wherein saidcontainer is configured to receive content from a content sourceexternal to said portal; a means for comparing structures containedwithin said content with structures specified within said exceptionmarkup document; and, an exception handler configured to perform anexception handling operation responsive to matches discovered by saidcomparing engine, wherein said exception handler prevents contentspecified within said exception markup document from being insertedwithin said container.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein saidexception markup document further comprises: a handling instructionassociated with at least one structure specified within said exceptionmarkup document, wherein said exception handler performs at least oneexception handling operation based upon said handling instruction. 12.The system of claim 10, wherein at least one structure specified withinsaid exception markup is dependant upon a browser used to display saidportal.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein said exception handler isconfigured to display a message responsive to matches discovered by saidcomparing engine.
 14. A machine-readable storage having stored thereon,a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said codesections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform thesteps of: identifying a section within a first markup document intowhich at least a portion of a second markup document is to be inserted;identifying an exception markup document specifying structuresrestricted within said section; searching said portion for at least oneexcluded structure specified within said exception markup document; ifno excluded structure is found by said searching step, inserting saidportion into said section; and, if at least one of said excludedstructures is found by said searching step, performing at least oneexception handling operation.
 15. The machine-readable storage of claim14, wherein said first markup document is provided by a portal, whereinsaid section specifies a container, and wherein said second markupdocument includes content provided by a content source, wherein saidcontent source is different from said portal.
 16. The machine-readablestorage of claim 14, wherein said exception handling operationcomprises: displaying a message indicating that restricted structuresexist within said portion.
 17. The machine-readable storage of claim 14,wherein said exception handling operation comprises the steps of:deleting said excluded structure from said portion; and, inserting saidportion within said section.
 18. The machine-readable storage of claim17, further comprising: identifying an initializing location specifyingthe beginning of said excluded structure; identifying a terminallocation specifying the ending of said excluded structure; identifyingstructure content contained between said initializing location and saidterminal location; and, deleting at least a portion of said structurecontent.
 19. The machine-readable storage of claim 14, furthercomprising: identifying within said exception markup document areplacement structure associated with said excluded structure; and,within said portion of said second document, replacing said excludedstructure with said replacement structure.
 20. The machine-readablestorage of claim 14, wherein said section comprises a plurality ofsegments, said method further comprising: limiting at least a portion ofsaid restricted structures identified within said exception markupdocument to particular ones of said segments as specified within saidexception markup document.
 21. The machine-readable storage of claim 20,wherein at least one of said segments is a structure.
 22. Themachine-readable storage of claim 14, wherein said exception markupdocument is disposed within said first markup document.